Common textile printing methods include a dye ink inkjet method, a pigment ink inkjet method, an inkjet transfer printing method and the like.
Dye ink inkjet method: aqueous slurry is first applied on the apparel fabric, and dried and pasted on a guide band printer coated with an adhesive sticker; graphics and text are printed with active or acid dye inks, then steaming and color development are performed; and after many times of washing and subsequent drying, printing is completed. The process of the method is roughly as follows: coating-drying-guide band machine printing-drying-steaming-washing for multiple times-drying-shaping and sewage treatment. Disadvantages of this method include: 1. The flaw generated before printing directly becomes a printing flaw, and the qualification rate is low; 2. the process flow of printing is long and the energy consumption is high; 3. the paste on the apparel fabric is a water-soluble glue, and after inkjet printing, the paste will be washed together with the excess ink, causing sewage that is difficult to treat.
Pigment ink inkjet method: a pre-treatment agent is applied on the apparel fabric, and dried and pasted on a guide band printer applied with an adhesive sticker; graphics and text are printed with a pigment ink; then a post-treatment agent is coated on the printed apparel fabric, and dried and fixed by a drying tunnel to complete printing. The process flow is roughly as follows: coating a pre-treatment agent using a sizing machine-drying-printing using a guide band machine-coating a post-treatment agent using the sizing machine-drying-fixing the color using a drying tunnel. Disadvantages of this method include: 1. the flaw generating during pre-treatment directly becomes a printing flaw, and the qualification rate is low; 2. because the treatment agents are applied on the apparel fabric twice, the cost is higher; 3. the hand feeling of the printed cloth becomes stiff and the color becomes lighter.
Inkjet transfer printing method: disperse dye ink and dye-sublimation transfer paper are loaded onto a printer; graphics and text are printed on the dye-sublimation transfer paper; then the printed surface of the paper is attached to the apparel fabric and then transferred to a heat transfer machine for sublimation transfer at a temperature of about 200° C.; the disperse dyes are vaporized into the polyester fibers, and the transfer paper is torn off to complete printing. The process of this method is roughly as follows: inkjet-printing transfer paper—performing thermal transfer—obtaining a printed product. The main disadvantage of this method is: because the sublimation temperature of the dye cannot match the temperature of most fibers, it can only be used for the printing of polyester fiber fabrics, and cannot be printed on natural fibers, mixed fibers and other fabrics.